Sparks of Insight
by jayJ530
Summary: Just some random drabbles and one-shots. Latest chapter: Some thoughts on Artemis Fowl and challenges.
1. The Inevitable

It seemed strange that something so obvious hadn't occurred to her before now. Still, it wasn't until Opal Koboi was sitting in LEP lockup, her mind wipe already completed, and the final preparations being made to send her back to her own time that it all clicked in Holly's head.

By sending Opal back they were ensuring that Julius would die.

Holly found herself in Trouble's office pleading with him and Foaly. Her arguments made no sense, she knew they made no sense, but she felt a burning desperation to do _something_. She couldn't let Julius die, she just couldn't.

Tears started pouring down her face before she even realized she was crying. Trouble and Foaly stood there frozen, looking helpless. There was nothing they could do. This was simply how things had to be.

She collapsed into a chair weeping uncontrollably. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Artemis, who until this moment had kept to the side as a silent observer. He now knelt before her so that their faces were level.

"Holly…" he started to say, his voice uncharacteristically tender.

Holly threw her arms around the boy's neck causing him to fall silent. She sobbed into his shoulder as he hesitantly put his arms around her.

"Artemis. Oh Artemis," she gasped out between sobs.

Artemis tightened his embrace.

"I know," he whispered. "I know."

* * *

A/N: Hopefully none of that seemed OOC. But yeah, was I the only one who read the end of TTP and couldn't help but think that by sending Opal back they were pretty much signing Julius' death sentence? Not saying that there's anything else they can do, but still...it seems a bit callous.


	2. Brotherhood

There were days when Trouble fantasized about strangling Grub. The way he constantly complained, the way he never showed Trouble any respect, and the way he constantly went on about how "Mommy said" this or that...it all drove Trouble nuts.

There were times that Trouble really wished Grub had never gone into law enforcement. Having a younger sibling pretty much riding on your coattails your entire life isn't pleasant under the best of circumstances, but when the sibling in question is almost completely incompetent, it has a tendency to make one's life hell.

Yes, most of the time Trouble wished that Grub wasn't as big a part of his life as he was. But even though Trouble often spent the day feeling something close to resentment towards him, it was the thought of something happening to Grub that frequently kept Trouble up at night. Because if his baby brother were to ever get hurt, or something even worse, Trouble just didn't know how he would ever live with himself.

* * *

A/N: I think I empathize with Trouble a little too much. Little brothers have this way of being really great and absolutely awful all at the same time. I can't even begin to imagine what having mine be in the same career as me would be like.


	3. In the Saddle

**A/N: This came out longer than planned. Also, it feels a bit...fluffy. Sorry about that.**

**Disclaimer: I can't believe I forgot to do this before now. But just in case anyone was wondering, I do NOT own Artemis Fowl.**

Holly flew to the stables behind the Fowl Manor. When she had shown up at the manor in search of Artemis, Butler had informed her that he was out riding one of the horses. Holly had been a bit skeptical upon hearing this. Artemis…doing something outside…of his own volition no less; it just didn't seem possible. But there he was: riding a dark gray horse in the arena next to the stable.

She came to a landing atop the fence, still shielded. She watched Artemis for a moment, amazed by how at ease he looked. This was clearly something he did often.

"You can unshield Holly." Artemis had come to a halt next to where she was sitting. "There's no one around except me and the horses." He gave her an amused smile.

With a roll of her eyes and not even bothering to wonder how Artemis had known she was there, Holly unshielded, causing the horse to give a startled snort and tossed its head nervously. Artemis put a soothing hand on its neck which seemed to settle the animal, though it continued to shift its weight anxiously and eye her with distinct unease.

"So, you ride huh?" Holly asked.

"Obviously," Artemis replied, his tone rich with understated sarcasm. Holly rolled her eyes again.

"How long have you been doing this?" Holly inquired.

"Well I've known how to ride since I was quite young, but this has only become a regular past-time since we got back from Hybras," Artemis responded. "My parents bought the Arabians during my three year absence and I discovered that I rather enjoy riding them."

Holly nodded.

"It's also good exercise," he added.

"Oh I'm sure it is," Holly said with a smile.

Artemis gave her a searching look; clearly trying to decide if she was being serious or not. He frowned slightly, but made no further comment on the matter.

"Would you like to try?" he asked her instead.

Holly looked at the horse in front of her. It was just so…big. She felt more than a little intimidated by the thought of being astride such a thing. Piloting shuttles may be no cause for fear, but shuttles weren't living creatures with minds of their own.

"Uh, the saddle is little too big for me don't you think?" she pointed out.

"Don't worry, you won't fall. Just grip with your legs," Artemis said, already in the process of dismounting.

He stood holding the reins, waiting. There was no way Holly was going to let him know she was afraid, so she slid off her wings and climbed down from the fence. Artemis gave her a leg up then handed her the reins.

"Give him a little squeeze with your heels and he'll start moving," Artemis told her.

Holly nodded and did as instructed. The horse immediately set off at a walk. Holly tightened her grip on the reins and resisted the urge to close her eyes. The horse was only going at its slowest pace and she could swear that she was already starting to slip out of the saddle. She attempted to grip harder with her legs and accidently jabbed the horse with her heels. It intensified its pace, walking much more quickly.

"Artemis," Holly called to him. She tried to sound calm, but a note of hysteria had crept into her voice.

Artemis chased after the horse, catching hold of the reins and pulling the animal to a stop.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Holly said.

"Scoot forward a bit," Artemis directed her. Holly gave him a confused look but complied.

"Why?" she asked.

Artemis didn't answer her. Instead he grabbed one of the stirrups and climbed into the saddle behind her. He took the reins, which Holly was all too happy to relinquish control of. She instead grabbed hold of the bump in the front of the saddle, holding onto it for dear life. She wasn't entirely comfortable as both the front of the saddle and Artemis were now pressing against her, but at least now she didn't feel like she was going to fall off.

"Ready?" Artemis asked her.

"As I'll ever be," Holly replied.

They set off at a brisk walk. At Artemis' urging the horse sped up to a trot, the choppy movement jarring Holly. They quickly went from a trot to a canter. The rolling gait was much smoother and Holly relaxed her hold on the front of the saddle and allowed herself to lean back against Artemis slightly.

They circled around the arena at a canter then Artemis pressed his heels into the horse's sides once more. Holly gave a small gasp as the horse surged forward, going into a hard gallop. A smile slowly spread across her face as the landscape began to flash by faster and faster. Perhaps horseback riding wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

A/N: I know the bump on the front of a saddle is called a pommel, but I doubt Holly does thus me not calling it by its real name. And yes Arabians are typically one of the smaller breeds of horses but compared to someone who is only three feet tall they would still seem pretty huge.


	4. Tempus Fugit

**A/N: Ok I promise I will eventually write more stuff that isn't Holly-centric. Despite all the hints of A/H, in this story Holly and Artemis are just friends.**

**Also, _Tempus Fugit _literally translates to time flees. Just in case you didn't know.**

* * *

_The walls we build around us to keep out the sadness also keep out the joy. – Jim Rohn_

_...then laugh, leaning back in my arms, for life is not a paragraph, and death I think is no parenthesis. – e.e. cummings_

* * *

"It's incredibly foolish you know…what you're doing," Foaly remarked.

Holly glanced over at him in surprise. They were in the OPS booth going over what Holly would need for her latest mission. She had been telling Foaly about something Artemis had said to her the last time she had called him, when the centaur had scowled and interrupted her.

"And what am I doing Foaly?" she inquired with an amused smile.

"Getting attached to the mudboy," Foaly responded. "It's stupid."

Holly stiffened and the smile disappeared from her face. She stared at her friend, uncertain where this sudden outburst had come from.

"Why?" she forced herself to ask.

"He's going to die you know." The concern in his eyes contrasted sharply with the bitterness of his tone. "You're letting him become your whole world even though in sixty or seventy years he's going to die and you'll still have your whole life ahead of you."

Holly felt a searing pain stab through her at his words. She closed her eyes and shook her head as though trying to deny what he had said. Didn't he realize that she was already all too aware of this? That she often felt that in little more than a blink of the eye Artemis' life would be over?

"But that's exactly the point, don't you see?" she practically pleaded with him. "He has so little time. I have to make the most of it before it's all gone."

She realized that this was rather like watching someone you love die of an incurable illness. You know that your time with them is quickly passing and want to make every precious moment you have left count. Only Artemis wasn't sick, unless you counted being human a disease. And maybe it was…after all it was going to kill him just as surely, and long before Holly was willing to part with him.

"You love him don't you?" Foaly asked her, his voice somewhere between puzzled and awed.

Holly looked away and pondered his question for a moment. Did she love Artemis? Perhaps. She liked to think her feelings for him were merely platonic, but honestly she just didn't know.

"Does it even matter?" she replied. Foaly shook his head.

"No," he said softly. "I guess it doesn't."

There was a brief silence. Neither of them looked at the other, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Holly spoke.

"I know that by remaining close to him, I'm opening myself up to heartache when Artemis dies. I know it's going to hurt me." _Or kill me_, she thought,_ because how am I ever going to live without him?_ "But that doesn't mean I should cut myself off from him now in an attempt to spare myself the pain. Just because something is fleeting doesn't mean it shouldn't be enjoyed while it lasts."

Foaly put a hand on her shoulder. Holly turned her head to meet his gaze once more.

"For your sake Holly," he said, "I hope you're right."

* * *

A/N partie deux: So many people have been writing Artemis death-fics lately. It has me thoroughly depressed. Admitedly this was a death-fic's close cousin, but I felt the need to shed some light on why even if there's probably pain waiting for you at the end, it's still well worth going through it.


	5. Dirty Little Secrets

**A/N: As proof that I am capable of keeping my promises: a Butler-centric fic! And a fairly silly one at that.**

_

* * *

_

_Francisco traced his fingers across the surface of her skin, causing Julia to shiver in pleasure._

"_You are so beautiful," he told her in a breathy whisper…_

Butler glanced up at the sound of footsteps approaching the door. He quickly grabbed a bookmark to hold his place and stashed the book behind the seat cushion. He had just relaxed back into the chair, a carefully neutral expression on his face, when Artemis entered without bothering to knock.

"Sorry to interrupt your reading, but I just came to inform you that Mother wants to leave for our trip at 7:00, so please be ready."

"Of course," Butler replied. There was a slight pause. Then he asked, "My reading?" He spread his arms, pointing out with the simple gesture that there was no literature of any sort near him at the moment.

"Come now Butler, we both know you currently have a romance novel tucked behind your chair cushion," Artemis said with a somewhat condescending smile. "I happen to be well aware of your reading preferences," he added still smiling.

"Really?" Butler asked frowning.

"I am a genius," Artemis replied with a smirk.

"Well in that case," Butler got up and went over to the bed. He reached under and pulled out the locked box containing the more secret portion of his book collection. He opened it and removed one of the novels. Taking a pen from his coat pocket, he handed both items to the young teen.

"Would you mind signing my book, Ms. Violet Tsirblou?" Butler inquired.

"How did you…?" Artemis started to ask as he took the proffered book and pen.

Butler just raised an eyebrow and gave his charge a knowing smile.

"Oh never mind," Artemis muttered.

* * *

A/N: Not sure why, but TTP was just chock full of "hmmm" moments for me. I mean come on, Artemis wrote _romance_ novels when he was _ten_? Out of all the things Artemis has done, that has to be one of the weirdest, at least in my opinion.

Oh and the Francisco and Julia bit was just my sad little attempt to write something that sounded romance novel-ly. It wasn't actually based on anything.


	6. Double the Trouble

**A/N: Sorry for the totally cliché title. It just fit so well.**

* * *

It looked like a tornado had swept through his room.

Artemis stood in the doorway taking in the damage with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. His clothes had been taken from their drawers and then scattered across the floor along with all his papers. The blanket from his bed had been draped between his dresser and the chair from his desk creating a sort of tent. All in all, the place was a mess. There was no doubt in Artemis' mind who was responsible.

_The __**Twins**_, Artemis thought darkly.

Sure enough there they were lying sprawled across Artemis' bed. They were both fast asleep, curled up together like a pair of kittens. Artemis' scowl faded as he walked over to the side of the bed. He reached down and smoothed Beckett's hair back from his face. The boy let out a soft sigh at the touch causing Artemis to smile fondly.

_I really should have a talk with them about boundaries and asking permission before invading other people's rooms_, Artemis decided.

He went to his desk to retrieve his laptop – that being what he had come to his room to do in the first place – then turned to leave. He glanced one more time at the twins as he neared the door.

_Then again, a talk probably wouldn't do much good. After all, since when have they ever listened to me?_ Artemis thought to himself.

Smiling wryly, Artemis shook his head and walked out of the room, leaving the twins to their slumber.


	7. The Ancient Youth

No ten-year-old, no matter how brilliant, is ready to be an adult. But that is exactly what was asked of young Artemis. With his father gone, likely dead, and with his mother slowly descending into madness, it fell to him to take care of things.

And that sort of responsibility would weigh down even the broadest pair of shoulders. Placed on the shoulders of a child, that weight simply crushes them.

Then one day they wake up and find themselves irreversibly changed. No longer a child but not really an adult either.

Life for Artemis Fowl II would forever be haunted by the childhood he never even realized he'd lost.


	8. Sweet Amor

**A/N: Very A/H. But also very much not A/H?**

* * *

"_Nor does laughter-loving Aphrodite ever tame in love Artemis . . ." – Hesoid_

* * *

He had ensnared her. First her body, then her heart…even her very soul had eventually become his to do with as he would. There were many who desired her, but she chose to belong only to him.

But he would never be hers. Not totally, wholly, _completely_ like she was his. To him she was so often little more than a tool – employed in furthering his goals and then placed aside to await a time when it would be useful again.

Whether he was incapable or unwilling to love, she never knew. And in the end, neither did she care.


	9. Experientia docet stultos

**A/N: ****Experientia docet stultos: Experience teaches fools**

* * *

It was ironic really. When you really thought about it, and she thought about everything at some point or another, it was almost funny. At least in a dark, cynical sort of way.

She had been named after the roman goddess of warfare and wisdom. Yet during that disastrous demon incident she had found herself reduced to little more than a damsel in distress – in need of rescuing by a boy barely older than herself. Hardly warrior-like on her part.

And if that experience had taught her anything, it was that being intelligent wasn't the same as being wise.

* * *

A/N: Poor Minerva, she gets vilified so much even though she really didn't do anything to deserve it.


	10. To Love and To Cherish

**A/N: Really wish we saw more of her in the books.**

* * *

Her smiles could cheer him up on the worst of his days. She put up good-naturedly with all his long hours at work and all of his many, _many_ eccentricities. She thought his jokes were funny and she was a great cook.

She was everything he could have ever dreamed of.

And for three long years she had been there for him. She had been his light in the dark, never letting him give up hope. She had kept him sane during an insane time.

Foaly often wondered just what he had done to deserve someone as wonderful as Caballine.


	11. Late Night Musings

**A/N: Raised the rating to T for this one. It has quite a lot of sensuality and sexual situations, so if any of that is going to bother you don't read this. And Artemis is uh...twenty something in this. Yeah, let's go with that shall we...**

* * *

Artemis stood staring out his bedroom window wearing only a pair of trousers. His hand rested against the cool glass as he gazed out at the night sky. _Stars_, he mused, _are the universe's greatest illusion_. All those dazzling pinpoints of light were little more than afterglows, showing things as they had existed long ago. A star could grow cold and dark this very instant and it would be generations before anyone on Earth knew the difference.

"Artemis?"

Artemis turned to see Holly sitting up on the bed blinking at him drowsily. He smiled as she tilted her head to one side questioningly. He leaned back against the windowsill and cocked an eyebrow at her. She gave a snort and clambered out of bed. Artemis watched her as she walked naked across the room to where he stood, studying the play of her perfectly toned muscles. Her dark skin sparkled slightly in the starlight and the red of her hair flickered like faintly glowing embers in the gloom. He had long ago become familiar with every inch of her – every dip and curve, every scar – but he would never grow tired of looking at her.

In that moment he found himself recalling stories told to him in his youth of the Leannán Sidhe – the fairy lover. Men were said to go mad and then die slowly of a broken heart after having been abandoned by them. The stories didn't seem so silly now; now that his time was measured in the weeks and months between late night rendezvous that were never enough to satisfy this burning need inside of him, but without which life would hold little meaning. Without Holly in his life he would surely go mad.

Reaching his side, Holly stared up at him with mismatched eyes identical to his own. She stroked the bare skin of his arm, leaving a trail of goose bumps in her wake. She took his hand in both of hers and trailed kisses across the tips of his fingers.

"Come back to bed," she whispered.

Artemis smiled and allowed himself to be led back to the bed – back into the security of silky sheets and warm arms. To a world of soft lips and breathy whispers. A beautiful sort of delirium existed there; it was a place where moments stretched on for an eternity and thoughts of dying stars and ancient stories held no sway. _Still_, Artemis couldn't help but think,_ nothing lasts forever_.


	12. Movie Night

**A/N: So now that I'm in the process of making a short film, the comment in TOD about the rocks not looking realistic enough and the movie people having to create their own has gone from being funny to: _yeah I know how that is_. **

**Also, I realized that I hadn't written anything about Mulch yet. So here you go.**

* * *

"Remind me again why we are watching this," Artemis grumbled. He slumped a bit lower in his seat on the couch, doing a rather good impression of your typical sulky teenager.

Mulch grinned and stuffed another large handful of popcorn into his mouth. Mulch eating popcorn was an incredibly nauseating sight, but then again, Mulch eating _anything_ tended to be at least a bit nauseating.

"I told you Mud Boy," he said between chews, bits of popcorn flying from his mouth with each syllable. Artemis scooted just a bit farther away from the dwarf. "Foaly was telling N°1 about the goblin uprising and somehow the movie came up and that was when we all found out that Holly had never seen it and we knew that of course _you_ hadn't seen it, so we decided to do a whole little movie night thing."

"_You_ decided," Holly said, sounding slightly annoyed. "There was no _we_."

"Sure, sure," Mulch said with a dismissive wave of his hand, releasing another spray of partially chewed popcorn. Artemis resisted the urge to gag. "It's just nice having the gang together again right?"

Holly gave a small _humph_ but said nothing. She was sitting on one end of the couch while Butler occupied the other. Artemis and Mulch were crammed in between them, much to Artemis' growing displeasure.

"Yes, I got that," Artemis snapped. "What I don't get is why you thought this movie was worth watching in the first place. The majority of the storyline is either highly exaggerated or completely wrong. And this…"

"Skylar Peat," Holly supplied.

"Yes, this Skylar Peat looks nothing like Holly. That is clearly a dye job and last time I checked Holly is not that tall. Plus, unless the mindwipe permanently damaged my memories of the entire incident, that is _not _what her LEP uniform looked like."

"I seriously doubt even a mindwipe could stop you from remembering Holly in something that revealing," Mulch chuckled.

Artemis blushed at this, but the intensity of his glare didn't lessen.

"Ok, ok, so maybe it isn't the most accurate retelling. But they have to change things to make it more dramatic," Mulch explained.

"More dramatic?" Artemis asked indignantly. He and Holly both stared at Mulch incredulously. Even Butler seemed a bit miffed by this last statement. "You mean to tell me that what really happened wasn't dramatic enough? I swam through radioactive slop for heaven's sake."

"I got my finger cut off!" Holly waved her scarred trigger finger in front of Mulch's face angrily.

"Hey, don't blame me," Mulch said, holding his hands up in front of him defensively. "I didn't make the movie."

"No, you're just forcing us all to watch it," Artemis groused. He returned to his previous slumped position, crossing his arms for good measure.

"No one is forcing you to do anything Artemis," Butler pointed out lightly. Artemis only glared at him in response.

"I heard that they're making a new one. It's going to be about the whole demon thing," Mulch said once everyone had calmed down and returned their attention to the movie.

"Yeah? That's going to be one boring movie," Holly said with a smile. "I mean, most of what happened is classified so there can't be much for them to actually go off of. Plus, it's not like there's really much to put in a movie. Artemis, N°1, Qwan, and I disappear then three years later we show up again along with the demon colony. How are they going to stretch that into a full length movie?"

"Well I heard they're going to make it into a romance," Mulch said airily.

Artemis sat up with a start. "What?!" he and Holly cried out simultaneously.

"Well you were gone for three years," Mulch pointed out.

"For us it was barely fifteen minutes!" Holly protested. "And Artemis and me, that's ridiculous. We would never…"

She trailed off, her eyes meeting Artemis'. They shifted uncomfortably in their seats as they both thought back to a certain incident in the gorilla cage at Rathdown Park – one that Mulch himself had witnessed no less, even if he didn't remember it. Perhaps 'never' was going a bit too far.

Mulch laughed. "Gee Holly, I was only joking. No need to get so worked up."

Artemis heard Butler mutter something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "Methinks the lady doth protest too much," but the boy decided to let it slide.

Holly punched Mulch in the arm. "That wasn't funny Mulch," she told him sternly.

Mulch let out a soft 'ow' as he gently massaged the spot where Holly had hit him. "Do you really have to hit so hard Holly?" he complained. He glanced over at Artemis. "I don't know how you put up with it Mud Boy, considering all the abuse she gives you."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Well I suppose I'm simply made of sterner stuff than you, my malodorous friend," he said smugly.

Holly snorted and Butler let out a rather strangled sounding cough. Artemis huffed and turned to glare at the screen, refusing to look at either of them. Mulch merely grinned.

"See, I told you having a movie night would be fun," he said, chortling. Taking another fistful of popcorn, he settled in to watch the remainder of the film.


	13. Incubus

**A/N: This is one of those times when I find myself writing something and have no idea where it came from.**

* * *

Sometimes she was running. She would run even after her breathing grew labored and her legs threatened to collapse underneath her, frantically trying to reach him before it was too late.

Sometimes it was dark. She would stumble about, feeling around blindly with her hands, calling his name. She would search and search, desperate to find him.

Sometimes though, he was already there. She would stand perfectly still as he wrapped his hands around her throat and slowly began to squeeze. She would gaze at him almost lovingly as her vision grew dark and then awake feeling oddly at peace.


	14. In Another Life

Artemis realized that in a different life, he and Minerva could have been a couple. They would have met at some conference or other, both pleasantly surprised to see someone their age in attendance. They would have kept in contact, just as they did now, and over time they would have inevitability grown closer.

In another life perhaps, but not in this one. So when Minerva would mention her latest romantic interest, Artemis felt no stirrings of jealousy. Their friendship was a simple one and free of complications.

Because if there was anything Artemis didn't need, it was more complications.

* * *

A/N: If this wasn't a series about a boy genius and his fairy friends, A/M would definitely win out. But seeing as how it **is** a series about a boy genius and his fairy friends....


	15. Have Faith

Commander Trouble Kelp strode into the LEP Ops booth followed closely by Captain Holly Short. Both elves were clearly tense and Trouble had a worried look on his face.

"Please give me some good news Foaly," he said as he walked across the room to stand beside the centaur.

"No can do Commander," Foaly said unhappily. "We have maybe an hour before we're completely over-run. I suggest we make plans to evacuate because I sure as hell don't know what else we can do."

"D'arvit!" Trouble cursed. He ran an anxious hand through his hair as he glared at Foaly's monitors.

"Don't worry," Holly spoke up from where she was standing by the doorway. "I'm sure Artemis will come up with something."

Trouble gave a small snort. "Look, I'll be the first to admit that Fowl is capable of many things, being a genius and all that, but there are some things even _he_ can't do."

Holly frowned slightly. "Did I ever tell you about how Abbot stabbed me when we were in Limbo?" she asked.

Foaly turned from his monitors to look at her. Trouble gently shook his head looking confused.

"No…" he said slowly.

Holly smiled sadly.

"The island was falling apart and time was jumping around erratically. Abbot charged me and when I tried to shoot him the beam got sucked back in time. And then it was too late. He stabbed me right through the chest, killing me almost instantly. But then Artemis changed time, making it so that Abbot never stabbed me at all. He brought me back from the dead."

Holly stared intently into Trouble's eyes.

"Artemis Fowl can do _anything_."


	16. Not Quite Forgotten

**A/N: I should really be doing my homework right now but oh well. This occurs between books 3 and 4 just so you aren't all horriblely confused.**

* * *

Angeline stood in the doorway of her son's bedroom watching the boy as he slept. She had been awoken by an overpowering need to make certain that her family was still there; that they hadn't vanished in the night leaving her all alone. Not an entirely irrational fear when one considered what she had been through.

So upon waking to find her husband sleeping beside her, something that never ceased to bring her comfort, she had gotten out of bed and walked down the hall to check on her son. He lay cocooned in his blankets, looking much more like a child as he slept than he ever did when awake.

As a ray of moonlight fell across his face, Angeline could see his features scrunch up in frustration.

"Come back," he mumbled. He tossed restlessly beneath the covers. "I won't let you leave. I won't."

Angeline crossed the room to sit on the edge of his bed. "Arty," she said, reaching for him.

He moaned, sounding almost pained.

"Arty," she said again, shaking him gently.

He awoke with a start. He sat up and stared at her with wide blue eyes.

"Mother?" he asked. He blinked sleepily. Angeline gently brushed the hair from his eyes.

"You were having a bad dream, Arty darling," she murmured, still stroking his hair.

Artemis nodded, his eyes distant and unfocused. "Yes, I was dreaming." He looked at his mother. "I was searching for something I had lost. It was very important that I find it."

"What was it?" Angeline asked softly.

Artemis' hand went to his chest, grasping the fabric of his nightshirt before falling limply to his lap.

"I can't remember," he whispered.


	17. So It Begins

"_For now I'll play the game  
And I'm waiting for your move  
But I've got to say  
That I never lose…"_

~ _Inside of You _by Hoobastank

* * *

She had told him that it wasn't a challenge…which of course had immediately made it one. He was Artemis Fowl II after all: being told that something was impossible only made him that much more determined to accomplish it.

It didn't help that she had always held such a fascination for him. Ever since he had regained at least partial access to the real memories of his ten year old self, thanks to their little jaunt through time, it had become quite clear to him that it hadn't been fairies he had spent two years searching for, it had been _her_. And with a little time and effort, he had found her. Even without knowing what he had actually been trying to do, he had still managed to succeed.

Now that he knew what it was he was striving for, he had every intention of seeing things through to the end. He was not the type to give up. He was cunning and more importantly, he was determined. And he now found himself faced with a prize well worth attaining.

The game was afoot and Artemis Fowl always played to win.

* * *

A/N: So I'm in the process of starting a multi-chapter AF fic and if anyone would like to volunteer to beta for me that would be _awesome_. =D


End file.
